Mail-bag and lock therefor



(No Mdel.)

WV. P. BEASLEY. MAIL BAGAND LOCK THBREPOR.

No. 471,166. Patented 11111.22, 1892.

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AUNITED STATES ATENT rrrcn.

WILLIAM F. BEASLEY, OF OXFORD, NORTH CAROLINA.

MAIL-BAGAND LOCKYTHEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,166, dated March 22, 1892. Application led December 6, i890. Serial No. 373,799. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. BEAsLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oxford, in the county of Granville and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bags and Locks Therefor; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in mail-bags and locks therefor; and it has for its object to provide a bag that may be readily locked and rendered Water-tight and a lock adapted to securely close the mouth of the said bag, which will be compact and protected against injury; and for these purposes my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts of Which'it is composed, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which corresponding parts are designated by similar iigures, Figure l is a plan View of the lock, in an unlocked position, adapted for use with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on line :c thereof, it being in place in the bag and locked therein. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on line yy, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragmental detail view of the cap. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of one of the stiffening-straps and parts of the bag secured thereto. Fig. 6 is a plan View of a portion of the bag partly open, it being shown both closed and fully open by dotted lines. Fig. 7 is a detached end view of the block and parts carried thereby, it being on the same scale as Fig. 3 and on a slightlysmaller scale than Figs. l and 2.

The block l has at one end thereof the head or flange 2, and has centrally placed therein the longitudinal rotary barrel 3, adapted to be locked in one position by means of the spring locking-pins 4, contained Within transverse holes in the said block, the said pins being adapted to be pushed back flush with the surface of the barrel by means of the key 5, inserted in the longitudinal slot 6 in the forward end of the barrel, the said key acting upon the pins 4 through pins '7, arranged in transverse holes formed in the said barrel, as is Well known, thus releasing the barrel and permitting it to be rotated.

The block 1 is of an angular shape to prevent its rotation Within the slots in the upper edge of the bag, it being preferably in cross-section an elongated parallelogram with rounded corners, the pins ft being contained therein and sliding in a direction parallel With one of its longer sides, the holes in which the said pins are contained being plugged from the outside, as shown. v

The barrel`3 is secured in place'within the lock by means of the flange 8, formed upon its forward end, which is received by the bell 9 in the forward face of the block and by means of the cross-head l0, Which is secured upon its rear end after it has been inserted in the central bore of the block. The cross-head l0 is of the same contour and size as the crosssection of the block and secu red upon the barrel 3 in such a relative position as to lie across the longer diameter of the block when in a locked Vposition (see Fig. 2) and lie across the shorter diameter When in an unlocked position. The ends of the cross-heads are reduced in thickness, as at ll ll, in order to force the bag the more securely together.

A series of perforations or eyes l2 are formed in the upper edge of the bag 13 and are of the same contour as the cross-section of the block l. I by preference construct the bag in the manner described in another application, led in the United States Patent Office on the 22d day of September, 1890, and serially numbered 365,803, and form the eyes in the stiffeningstraps 14, secured to the upper edges thereof, as is described in the said application; but it is evident that the perforations l2 may be formed by securing eyelets directly to the fabric of the said bag, the bag in either case being adapted to be so folded when closed that the said perforationsv or eyes l2 are in alignment with each other, thus adapting them to receive the block l, the body-of Which will be contained therein. The inner surface of the top of the bag has india-rubber or other suitable packing material 14;a thereon extending across the top of the bag and around the eyes IOO l2, Which is adapted when the top of the bag 'r is forced together to exclude moisture.

A cover l5, of canvas, is adapted to iit over the top of the bag when closed,two of the opposite sides of the cover having eyes 12 therein corresponding to the eyes on the top of the bag, while one of the sides of the cover has two cam-tracks 16 secu red thereon, one above and the other below the eye 12 therein, the said tracks projecting farthest outward from the side of the cover directly above and below the said eyes, at which points notches 17 are formed therein to assist in holding the crosshead 10 in position. It will be seen, however, that, if desired, the cover 15 may be dispensed with, in which case the cam-tracks can be placed on the end fold of the bag in the proper relative position to the eye therein.

The parts being constructed as described, it is evident that when the bag is folded, as shown in dotted lines A in Fig. 6, the cover 15 may be slipped on the top thereof, the eyes therein registering with the eyes in the cover. The block 1 :is now inserted in the said eyes, (the barrel being in the unlocked position shown in Fig. 1,) the flange 2 thereon resting against the outer surface of one side ofthe cover and the body of the block being contained within the eyes in the several folds of the bag, while the cross-head 10 projects on the opposite side of the cover. If the barrel be now rotated through an arc of ninety degrees, the said cross-head will be turned across the eyes 12 in the bag and cover, locking them together, and at the same time will, by bearing on the cam-tracks 17, compress the thickness of the bag together, causing the india-rubber 14 thereon to make a waterproof packing, and such as will be the case if, as shown in Fig. 2, the inside of the cover be also coated with india-rubber at 18. It will thus be seen that the several folds of the top of thebag are securely locked and compressed together, and that as the cover is locked thereon the removal of the contents of the bag without first unlocking and revolving the barrel is impossible, and that the entrance of moisture is prevented. It will also be seen that by this construction a cheap, compact, and durable lock is made, which is protected bythe top of the bag, in which it is contained, from external injury, as well as from injuring articles which the bag may come in contact with.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The combination, with a bag having a series of elongated eyes in the mouth thereof and with a cam-track contiguous to one of the exterior eyes, of a barrel adapted to be contained within the said eyes and capable of being rotated therein, the said barrel having a cross-head upon one of its ends bearing upon the said cam-track and carrying an enlargement upon its opposite end, and means for locking the said barrel against rotation, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a bag having a series of eyes therein, of a fastener therefor consisting of a block of approximately the same contour as the said eyes in which it is adapted to be contained and having an enlargement upon its one end, a rotary barrel carrying a cross-head and contained within the said block, and means for locking the said block and barrel together, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a bag having a series of elongated eyes therein,of a fastener therefor consisting of a block of approximately the same contour as the eyes within the bag, having an enlargement upon its one end and adapted to be contained in the said eyes, a rotary barrel carrying a cross-head and contained within the said block, and pins contained within the said block and adapted to engage the said barrel, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a bag having a series of elongated eyes therein and with a camtrack contiguous to one of the exterior eyes, of a fastener for the said bag, consisting of a block of approximately the same contour as the eyes within the bag, having an enlargement upon one of its ends and adapted to be contained in the said eyes, a rotary barrel carrying a cross-head and contained within the said block, and pins contained within the said block and adapted to engage the said barrel, the said cross-head being adapted to bear upon the said cam-track,substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a bag having a series of elongated eyes therein and with a cover therefor provided with corresponding eyes, of a fastener for the said bag, ,consisting of ablock of approximately the same contour as the eyes within the bag. having an enlargement upon one of its ends and adapted to be contained in the eyes in both the cover and bag, a rotary barrel carrying a cross-head and contained within the said block, and pins contained within the said block and adapted to engage the said barrel, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a bag having a series of elongated eyes therein and with a cover therefor provided with corresponding eyes and a cam-track adjacent to one of the exterior eyes, of a fastener for the said bag and cover, consisting of a block of approximately the same contour as the eyes within the bag, having an enlargement upon one of its ends and adapted to be contained in the eyes in both the cover and bag, a rotary barrel carrying a cross-head and contained within the said block, and pins contained within the said block and adapted to engage the said barrel, the said cross-head being adapted to bear upon the said cam-track, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a bag having a series of elongated eyes therein and provided with a packing around the said eyes, a cover for the said bag, provided with corresponding eyes and with a cam-track adjacent to one of the exterior eyes, of a fastener for the said IOO IIO

bag and cover, consisting of a block of apbeing adapted to bear upon the said cam- 1o proximately the same contour as the eyes track, substantially as described.

Within the bag, having an enlargement upon In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in one of its ends and adapted to be contained presence of two witnesses.

in the eyes in both the cover and bag, a. ro-

tary barrel carrying a, cross-head and eon- VILLIAM F. BEASLEY. tained within the said block, and pins con- Vitnesses: tained Within the said block and adapted to V. M. DORSEY,

engage the said barrel, the said Cross-head ZADIE GIBSON. 

